Payback
by sunsets-over-scars
Summary: A simple story of payback between friends...or more than friends? What pain will someone endure to be with the one they love? GinxOC (Richi created by AnimeLuver200 from Wattpad)


*Richi is the OC of AnimeLuver200*

"Not again," The girl frowned, rolling her eyes. "This is ridiculous!" Richi stood and grabbed her zanpaku-to. These random Hollow attacks were getting really annoying. Every hour upon the hour a gaggle of Hollows invaded Las Noches, trying to get to any Arrancar they could to consume their powers. The Hollows were weak, but Richi was beginning to have problems handling them; she'd been fighting for the past six hours, and her spirit energy was beginning to deplete. She was sweating profusely and her legs were beginning to feel weak. "Dammit..." she cursed. "How long is this gonna last? I'm starting to get really tired..."

"Die, Soul Reaper! You don't belong here!" A Hollow with a round mask yelled as he surged towards her. She groaned and slashed, annihilating him instantly.

"Shut up!" She said. "You, all of you, are annoying!" She fought for another hour or so before a flash of pain shoot through her legs, and suddenly she collapsed to the ground. All feeling was gone from the lower half of her body and she cursed. She couldn't move!

Hollows enveloped her, making her body completely invisible to any onlookers. Hands reached for her and she looked at the sand.

_This is it,_ she thought. _Today is the day I die. Fuck...and to_ these_ losers?_

Suddenly a flash of white light came to her eyes, and she looked up. All the Hollows were gone; all she saw was a blade. The longest zanpaku-to that stretched over three kilometers.

_Shinso. _

__She stared into the sky, eyes wide as she was amazed as the blade removed all of the Hollows in one fell sweep. They all disappeared at once, and, before she knew it, a familiar fox face grinned at her.

"Helloo~" Gin laughed, looking down at the girl.

Richi sighed and blushed in embarassment; of course, Gin. She'd liked him for many years, even back when they were all in the Seireitei together. She'd kept her feelings to herself, knowing Aizen would be angry with any sort of distraction from his master plan. Especially somethinga as banal as _romance. _He'd spit at the notion.

"Hello, Gin," She said, staring back at him with a look of slight annoyance.

"Aw, don't look at me like that~!" He smiled. "You should be thanking me, I did save your life after all." He bent down and picked her up, throwing her into his arms bridal-style. "And now I'm being courteous enough to take you to the infirmary."

She rolled her eyes and let him carry her, much to her humiliation. "I couldn't even take down some Hollows, I'm sorry." She looked away in embarassment. "I'm too weak."

He shook his head. "On the contrary. I watched you fight for many hours. I know how tired you are; that's why your legs gave out. Your spirit energy has been decimated, and you need to rest." He smiled. "You're plenty strong, don't worry."

She sighed contentedly. _Good_, she thought. _He doesn't think I'm some idiotic weakling. _She relaxed into his hold and let him carry her to the infirmary. She sighed as she was placed on a cot and a nurse flew over to her, tending to her wounds and attatching and IV filled with reishi to her. It was a little painful, but Richi knew she couldn't protest. She barely had enough energy to keep her eyes open.

Eventually she didn't even have the energy to do that and fell asleep against the cold metal cot.

Hours later she was awoken by a crashing sound, a curse, and a resounding crack. She winced and sat up slowly, her head still a bit light. She heard the voice again and her eyes widened as she recognized it; Gin. He was in trouble!

She yanked the IV out of her and ran out of the room, much to the protest of the head nurse. She ignored her and followed the sound of Gin's voice and spiritual pressure, following the trail until her eyes widened at the sight in front of her.

Gin was collapsed against the ground, sweating profusely. His leg, appearingly broken, was bent at a disgusting angle and he was groaning in pain against the pristine tile floors. His hair was in a mess and his back was bloody.

"Gin!" Richi cried, running forwards towards him. "What the hell happened to you?" She slowly lifted him, helping him on his feet and supporting him as she rushed him to the infirmary.

"Aizen...punish..ment..." he groaned, having trouble speaking from the lack of energy due to his extensive blood loss.

She cursed as they entered, getting the nurse to help her move him to a cot. He was given two IVs: one of reishi, one of blood. He was pale as a ghost and his entire body was covered in a sheen of cold sweat, the two revealed as they disrobed him to dress his enourmous wounds.

"Gin...what the hell did you do?" She frowned at him. "Aizen's never been this bad, especially to one of his partners...he wouldn't even injure an Espada this way. What ticked him off so bad?"

He looked at her and his eyes opened slowly, revealing that crystalline, clear aquamarine color she oh-so adored. "I told him I was going to have to defy one of his orders."

Her eyes were wide as she looked from Gin to the nurse, who held a matching expression. The nurse excused herself as she finished dressing the wound, leaving the ex-Captain in just his pants. The two were now completely alone in the infirmary and the overwhelming silence of shock at his statement consumed them.

"Wh-what?!" She eventually broke the silence with an outstanding cry, her voice cracking a bit in surprise. "How could you do that? Are you stupid? What are you defying?"

He reached out slowly, and with a bit of pain, to grab her hand. "I...I told him," he said, struggle evident in his voice, "I told him that I would have to defy that order he gave us so long ago...to not fall in love."

She leaned back a bit in shock; Gin had fallen in love? She could barely fathom the idea, much less comprehend it right in front of her. "You...what?" She said nervously, feeling her heart sink in disappointment. Gin had fallen in love. The man she loved had fallen in love with someone else. Of course; she knew her crush was ridiculous in the first place. He was a well-respected man throughout the realms, and she was just a normal Soul Reaper, barely past the level of a Lieutenant. Sure, she was a bit stronger than most, but she was a pimple on the lowest vermin compared to Gin, Tosen, and Aizen. She was completely inadequate, why did she ever think anything would blossom out of her ridiculous infatuation?

She looked at the ground, too ashamed to meet his gaze. "So...you fell in love," she said coldly, her voice struggling not to shake. "That's wonderful, Gin...so wonderful. She must be a lovely lady, she's definitely a lucky one."

He chuckled a bit. "She is lovely, no doubt in my mind...she's perfect for me."

Richi felt like she could cry, and she hated not knowing if the tears were out of anger, jealously, or sadness. They were just tears begging to flow.

She nodded and looked at him sadly. "Congratulations."

He squeezed her hand. "I'm not the one you should be congratulating." His tone was playful as he raised an eyebrow at her in question.

"What?" She asked. "What do you mean?"

With a quick, strong jerk, she was pulled forward, her torso falling on Gin as their lips collided. Richi's eyes were wide as she looked at the man she was kissing, but he simply winked and continued the embrace. Her head went light as they connected, soft lips meeting rough ones, tastes exchanging, and feelings flowing through the air to one another, all through this one, simple gesture.

Gin pulled away and smiled at her. "I fell in love with _you_, Richi," he said simply. "I want to be with _you._"

She looked at him still, her body feeling as if it would float away right now and leave her soul sitting in her cold infirmary chair. She suddenly leaped forward and hugged him, burying her face in his neck to hide the deep blush slowly creeping over her face. "You b-bastard!" she called.

"Hm?" He asked with a chuckle, one hand still holding hers while the other pat her back soothingly. He smirked as he felt her face heat against his collarbone. "I'm a bastard, am I?"

She nodded. "A damn bastard!" She moved up and looked at him. "I can't believe you've made me wait all this time for you, asshole!" She was happily angry now, the emotions mixing into this cloud of light confusion in her head.

He smiled and held her still, pushing her back down to lay on him. "It's payback," he explained. "For all the times you looked cute, or said something cute, or did something bold and daring...for every reason that I love you," he said. "It's payback for all the pain I went through to keep my distance and not kiss you silly every moment we were in the same room."

Her blush darkened and she kissed the skin on his neck, hugging him tightly. "Idiot..." she mumbled into him, "you should've done that a hundred years ago."

His eyes opened in surprise for a moment before returning to normal as he smiled, kissing the top of her head. "I love you, Richi."

"Yeah, yeah," she said passively, trying to coat her extreme embarrassment. "I love you too, Gin."


End file.
